DETROIT, MICHIGAN KRATOM BAN: COMMITTEE VOTES MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21 — EMAIL AND SHOW UP BEFORE 10 AM ET

Detroit's Public Health and Safety Committee will consider Agenda Item 6.24 — a resolution supporting Michigan House Bill 5537, a statewide ban on all kratom including natural leaf — this Monday September 21 at 10:00 AM ET. The resolution cites legitimate concerns about chemically manipulated 7-OH products, then reaches for the wrong answer: a blanket ban that criminalizes responsible adults instead of targeted protections.

Three ways to act — show up, call in, or email before Monday.

Meeting Details

📅 Monday, September 21, 2026

⏰ 10:00 AM ET

📍 In person: 1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Detroit, MI 48226

📞 By phone: +1 929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 858 4690 3626

📋 Agenda Item 6.24 — Resolution supporting HB 5537 (kratom ban)

🔗 Take action: protectkratom.org

Take Action Now

Email the Committee Before Monday — Ask Them to HOLD Agenda Item 6.24:

📧 CouncilMemberGabriela@detroitmi.gov

📧 CouncilMemberDenzel@detroitmi.gov

📧 CouncilMemberWaters@detroitmi.gov

📧 CouncilMemberTate@detroitmi.gov

📧 Public comment (becomes official record): CCPublicComment@detroitmi.gov

Attend in Person or Call In Monday September 21 at 10:00 AM ET:

📍 1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Detroit, MI 48226

📞 +1 929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 858 4690 3626

What to Say

Share your personal experience — your story is what makes the message count. Use this as a guide:

"I am asking you to reject the proposed resolution supporting House Bill 5537. The products causing harm are chemically manipulated 7-OH products — not natural kratom leaf. They are fundamentally different, and the DEA has already recognized that difference by issuing an emergency scheduling order against chemically manipulated 7-OH at the federal level while leaving natural kratom leaf alone. A blanket ban is the wrong answer — support age limits, testing, and labeling instead."

What Agenda Item 6.24 Would Do — and Why It Gets It Wrong

Agenda Item 6.24 is a resolution in support of Michigan House Bill 5537 — a bill that would impose a statewide ban on all kratom, including natural kratom leaf. The resolution acknowledges legitimate public health concerns around chemically manipulated 7-OH products — and those concerns are valid. The problem is the proposed solution: a blanket ban that treats natural kratom leaf the same as the dangerous synthetic concentrates driving those concerns.

Natural kratom leaf and chemically manipulated 7-OH products are fundamentally different. The DEA has already recognized that difference by issuing an emergency scheduling order against chemically manipulated 7-OH at the federal level while leaving natural kratom leaf alone. The FDA has specifically recommended that synthetic 7-OH be classified as a controlled substance — not natural kratom leaf. A resolution that supports a blanket ban ignores that federal distinction entirely.

The right answer is not prohibition. The right answer is targeted regulation — age limits, mandatory third-party testing, and labeling requirements that keep dangerous synthetic products out of the marketplace while preserving access to natural kratom for the responsible Michigan adults who depend on it.

Kratom advocates have taken this message directly to Washington. In a recent Congressional briefing, advocates urged lawmakers to support natural kratom leaf products while warning of the distinct risks posed by synthetic concentrates — reinforcing the same distinction that federal regulators have already drawn. Read more: Kratom Advocates Brief U.S. Congress in Support of Natural Leaf Products, Warn of the Risks Posed by Synthetics.

As research discussed on the Huberman Lab podcast makes clear, natural kratom leaf has a distinct profile that sets it apart from synthetic concentrates. That distinction was further reinforced by an FDA clinical trial — the first of its kind — which examined kratom's pharmacological profile and underscored why natural leaf should not be treated the same as dangerous synthetic 7-OH. For the latest on kratom legality in Michigan and other states, visit our kratom legality map. Learn more about kratom legality and regulation nationwide.

The Bigger Picture

A Detroit committee resolution supporting HB 5537 adds local momentum to a statewide ban effort that is already advancing. Stopping it here — at the committee level, before it builds more support — is exactly the kind of early intervention that makes a difference.

Email every committee member before Monday. Attend in person at 1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center or call in at +1 929-436-2866 using Meeting ID 858 4690 3626. Submit public comment at CCPublicComment@detroitmi.gov — it becomes part of the official record.

The committee meets Monday September 21 at 10:00 AM ET. Every email sent and every voice heard before then matters.